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Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, gender influence, and relationships between burnout, depression and
suicidal ideation within the last year among second, fourth and fifth-year dental students.
Study Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 212 dental students enrolled in the second, fourth and
fifth years at the School of Dentistry of Seville using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey and the
MBI-Human Services Survey, the "Patient Health Questionnaire-2", and the "Questions about Suicidal Ideation
and Attempted Suicide".
Results: The response rate among dental students was 80%. Burnout prevalence in dental students was higher in
second and fourth years than in fifth year (
p
= 0.059 and
p
= 0.003, respectively). Depression prevalence in the
fourth year approached significance (
p
= 0.051). Prevalence of suicidal ideation within the past year was higher,
yet not reaching significance, in fourth year. No gender-related differences were found. A significant association
was observed between burnout and depression, and between depression and suicidal ideation (
p
< 0.001), but no
association was found between burnout and suicidal ideation.
Conclusions: This study has brought our attention to the high prevalence of burnout and depression, and reported
for the first time the prevalence of suicidal ideation among dental students in preclinical and clinical years.
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